If Gov. Jerry Brown wants to know why he should halt fracking in California, he need only consider the terrible climate danger posed by oil and gas industry pollution.

A recent study in the Journal of Geophysical Research found that the methane leakage rate from Los Angeles-area oil and gas operations was 17 percent. That makes these fuels more harmful to the climate than coal because methane is such a dangerously potent greenhouse gas. Increased fracking in California will make this problem even worse.

Moreover, fracking in California is mainly for oil, and much of California's oil is dirty, heavy crude. The California Air Resources Board scores many of the state's oil fields as about as carbon intensive as oil from the infamous Alberta tar sands. Brown is absolutely right about the need for California to lead the fight against a climate catastrophe. But he has to acknowledge another truth: Climate leaders don't frack.

The Mercury News ("BART caved with 16.4% pay increase, few gains on rules," Editorial, Oct. 26) missed the point about workers' wages and benefits. When we focus on how much better off the BART workers are than the rest of us, we support the race to the bottom for everyone.

As a physician I meet patients who are working two or three jobs to meet expenses. They sleep 4-6 hours a night and nod off in chairs and can barely focus during brief appointments. I certainly wouldn't want one of them driving my train.

In Alameda County, a living wage for the sole breadwinner for a family of four is $47,091. Check out the Living Wage Calculator at http://livingwage.mit.edu/ and see what a living wage is for you. Isn't it time to start a race to the top?

Despite the partial shutdown of our federal government, I am glad to report that I made it in and out of Washington, D.C., safely I am thankful to the Silicon Valley Leadership Group for the opportunity to speak in Washington to more than 70 members of Congress. I was heartened to hear that immigration reform is well supported. While congressional troublemakers make the news, many members of both parties are working behind the scenes to dramatically change the immigration process. I'm happy to report that members of Congress like Reps. Darrell Issa, Mick Mulvaney and Sean Duffy are working on legislation to improve our broken immigration system. Their objective is to expedite the process and make it more inclusive of people wishing to come here to work and add value. Speaking as an immigrant, it can be very frustrating to immigrate to the United States. Immigrants made this country what it is today. I support immigration reform wholeheartedly and look forward to its success.

Johnny Khamis

San Jose Councilmember, District 10

Cortese as mayor 'fox guarding henhouse'

Electing Dave Cortese as mayor of San Jose is like letting the fox guard the henhouse. Cortese kowtowed to the government unions in his kickoff for the mayor's seat. So when "Mayor" Cortese sits down with the union leaders (who no doubt will be fattening his election coffers) to negotiate regarding San Jose's unsustainable government employee compensation and pensions, we know he will be working hand in hand with and for the public employee unions. If Cortese is elected, who will be negotiating on behalf of San Jose's citizens, businesses and taxpayers? No one -- which is exactly what got us in this mess in the first place.

Eric C. Bellafronto

San Jose

President Obama 'too busy with his crayons' So now we are told President Obama knew nothing about the NSA spying on cell phones of world leaders, just as he knew nothing about the IRS targeting certain Americans for their political beliefs, just as he knew nothing about the circumstances of the Benghazi murders, just as he knew nothing about the "Fast and Furious" scandal (his administration's program that gave guns to Mexican criminal gangs) and just as he knew nothing about the catastrophe of his Obamacare website collapse. Personally, I believe our President when he says he was in the dark about all this. I suspect he was too busy with his crayons, drawing "Red Lines."